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Courses

SEMESTER II, SPRING 2009

Primarily for Undergraduates

GRMN 0110 -- Intensive Beginning German
Aminia Brueggemann
Students who wish to complete the GRMN 0100 - 0200 sequence in one semester may do so by enrolling in GRMn 0110 for two semester credits. There are six hours per week in small drill sections conducted by fluent undergraduate teaching apprentices. Another three hours of classs will be conducted by the faculty instructor. Students MUST register for a conference, and a lecture section. Enrollment limited to 16.
21180 S01 I hr. (Tu,Th 10:30-11:50)
21181 C01 F hr. (M,W,F 1:00-2:50)
21183 C02 F hr. (M,W,F 1:00-2:50)

GRMN 0200 -- Beginning German
Jane Sokolosky and Staff
This course focuses on the acquisition of communicative skills and on cultural awareness of the German-speaking countries. At the end of the year, students will be able to communicate successfully about everyday topics, understand simple texts and write with good command of grammatical structures. Four hours per week plus regular computer and listening comprehension work. This is the second half of a year-long course. Students must have taken GRMN 0100 to receive credit for this course. The final grade for this course will become the final grade for GRMN 0100. If GRMN 0100 was taken for credit then this course must be taken for credit; if taken as an audit, this course must also be taken as an audit. Exceptions to this policy must be approved by both the academic department and the Committee on Academic Standing. Enrollment limited to 20.
21184 S01 E hr. (M,W,F 12:00-12:50) and Tu 12:00-12:50
21185 S02 F hr. (M,W,F 1:00-1:50) and Th 12:00-12:50
S03 D hr. (N,W,F 11:00-11:50) and

GRMN 0400 -- Intermediate German II
Jane Sokolosky and Staff
An intermediate German course that stresses improvement of communicative skills: listening, writing, reading, and speaking. Grammar review as needed. Frequent written assignments include blogs and discussions boards. Topics include German art, film and literature. Students read short stories, novels and work with iPods. Four hours per week. Prerequisite: GRMN 0300 or placement.
21187 S01 C hr. (M,W,F 10:00-10:50) and Th 12:00-12:50
21188 S02 G hr. (M,W,F 2:00-2:50) and Th 12:00-12:50

GRMN 0600B -- Was ist Deutsch?
Zachary Sng
In this course we will examine some of the ideas and myths used over the centuries to unify Germans an dgive them a sense of their heritage and distinctivemenss: concepts like 'das Reich' or 'Bildung', figures like 'Barbarossa' or 'der deutsche Michel.' In some cases we may find the same words ('Freiheit" or 'Gesellschaft') have very differend connotations. Conducted in German. Prerequisite: GRMN 0400 (GM 40) or permission.
21190 S01 D hr. (M,W,F 11:00-11:50)

GRMN 1320E -- Goethe und die Klassik
(in German)
Thomas Kniesche
In 1774, the first European best-seller was published: Goethe’s Die Leiden des jungen Werther (The Sorrows of Young Werther). Between then and about 1830, authors such as Lessing, Hebel, Schiller, Kleist, and Hölderlin, to name just a few, created a corpus of texts in German literature that has no equal. In this course, we will study the literature of this extraordinary time and ask questions such as: How did it come about that German literature reached such heights during this historical period? What changed between the “Sturm und Drang” (Storm and Stress) of the 1770s, the classical texts of Goethe and Schiller, and later ‘romantic’ writings? What were the literary and aesthetic agendas of the major players? How did this literature shape the cultures of the German speaking world? Prerequisite TBD.
25131 S01 H hr. (Tu,Th 1:00-2:20)

GRMN 1660Y -- Cultural Criticism in Benjamin & Kracauer
(in German)
Bernd Stiegler, Max Kade Visiting Professor

GRMN 1990B -- Site of Memory
(in German and English)
Zachary Sng
The seminar explores the connection between representation and management of space and memory in the German context. Readings drawn from literary works, philosophy, public discourse about monuments and memorials, and so on. Assignments include individual presentations and final research project. Required for conentrators, open to tohers with instructor's permission.
25135 S01 M hr. (M 3:00-5:20)

GRMN 1660Z -- Migrant Culture in Contemporary Culture
(in English)
Roberto Simanowski
Examines writings/films by/about migrants in contemporary Germany with a comparative look at writings by migrants in the U.S.A. Discussions include issues of identity, displacement, xenophobia, cultural clash, hybridity, multiculturalism, post-colonialism, and identity-tourism. Readings by Yoko Tawada, Terézia Mora, Rafik Schami, Emine Sevgi Özdamar, Jhumpa Lahiri. Movies by Fatih Akin, Züli Aladag, Mira Nair.
25134 S01 J hr. (Tu,Th 1:00-2:20)

GRMN 0750C -- Crime Fiction: The Global Hyper-Genre
(in English)
Thomas Kniesche
Today, every fourth new “literary” book is a mystery novel. Twenty-five percent of all new literary books worldwide are crime fiction. Wouldn’t you like to study a literary genre that people actually read, perhaps even you? A genre that has long been considered as a cultural ingredient of the Anglo-American West, has now become truly global. Crime fiction is written and read everywhere. It also has incorporated other literary genres, such as the adventure story, the family tragedy, the historial novel, or the novel of coming-of-age, thus acquiring the status of literary hyper-genre. As a means of a society to reflect upon itself, crime fiction reflects how certain cultures deal with the dialectics of threatening and securing civic order, how they depict mentalities, traditions, topographies, or cultural change. In this class, we will discuss and compare mystery novels from France, Italy, Russia, Turkey, the US, Germany, and Sweden. No prerequisite.
25132 S01 H hr. (Tu,Th9:00-10:20)

Primarily for Graduates

GRMN 2660F -- Theory of Photography
Bernd Stiegler

GRMN 2660E -- Nationalism in Germany
(in German)
Roberto Simanowski
Examines rise of German nationalism in the 18-19th Century literature/writing and perspective on German nationalism/patriotism after WWII and Reunification. Discussions include issues of national identity in light of globalization and terrorism in the 21st Century. Readings by Lessing, Herder, Jean Paul, Fichte, Ernst Moritz Arndt, Kant, and Kleist as well as theorists such as Huntington, Flusser, Gellner, Bhabha. Grade option: standard.
25136 S01 N hr. (W 3:00-5:20